Rangers looking to start over

Updated 10:04 pm, Thursday, October 4, 2012

Groundskeepers prepare Rangers Ballpark in Arlington for the wild-card matchup.

Groundskeepers prepare Rangers Ballpark in Arlington for the wild-card matchup.

Photo: Richard W. Rodriguez

Rangers looking to start over

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ARLINGTON - After a grinding stretch during which the Texas Rangers lost nine of their last 13 games, and the American League West crown in the process, manager Ron Washington gave his players the day off Thursday.

They get a chance to start fresh Friday.

One chance - or the season will be over for the two-time defending American League champions long before another World Series.

"I don't feel any different," Washington said. "Other than the fact we have an opportunity to get back in the playoffs if we win a ballgame."

Still, the team that twice came within a strike of winning last year's World Series, never expected to be in this kind of postseason situation.

Instead of winning another division title, after being in first place for a majors-high 178 days this season, Texas hosts a winner-take-all AL wild-card game Friday against Baltimore and former manager Buck Showalter.

Yu Darvish makes his MLB postseason debut for the Rangers against the only AL team the righthander from Japan didn't face this season. Lefty Joe Saunders, a late-season acquisition by the Orioles, has never won at Rangers Ballpark.

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Orioles at Rangers

Season series: The Rangers won five of seven from the Orioles, outscoring the O's 56-24.

On the mound: Rangers starter Yu Darvish went 5-1 with a 2.39 ERA in his past eight starts … Joe Saunders, who gets the nod for Baltimore, has a 9.38 ERA in six career starts in Arlington … The good news for Baltimore is its bullpen, which pitched the fourth-most innings in the majors and helped the O's to a 74-0 record when leading after seven.

At the plate: Josh Hamilton had four homers in one game against the Orioles on May 8 but has only four in his past 17 games. Coincidentally, the Rangers hit .217 with runners in scoring position during that stretch … Only the Yankees hit more home runs than the Orioles (214), who were led by former Ranger Chris Davis (33) and Adam Jones (32).

In the dugout: Buck Showalter knows his way around Arlington after managing the Rangers from2003-06 … Ron Washington has led the Rangers to the past two World Series.

Baltimore is in the playoffs for the first time in 15 years under Showalter, who was hired by the Orioles midway through the 2010 season

Just a week ago, Texas had a four-game division lead with six to play after splitting a four-game series at home against Oakland. The Rangers lost five of those last six games, including a three-game sweep this week against the A's, who clinched the division title on the last day of the regular season with a 12-5 victory.